Hyo Jeong Cultural Festival at the German HARP Winter Workshop

I was immensely delighted by the success of the Hyo Jeong Cultural Festival at the German HARP Winter Workshop on January 3rd, 2019. Following an unsuccessful attempt to introduce this festival to the Winter WS the year before, I was skeptical whether this initiative would work this time around: the fear of alienating participants who aren’t performing artists kept us from doing it before. Thanks to Leandro Haubold’s insistence in involving me, and Takanari Wakayama’s support to expand on the concept and implement it during the WS, we were able to set the stage for a night that revolved around people’s passions.

The WS participants were encouraged to share about the passions they pursue in their everyday lives, whether they are sports, health, education, social, culinary or artistic fields. The goal of the evening was to ignite a desire to pursue one’s talents and interests more seriously by letting people shine their light and inspire others.

Up until that evening, I admit that I wasn’t 100% sure what we were doing. As the evening unfolded, it turned out that the participants who shared about the many hours of hard work invested into their passions, and the reasons why they do so, were able to create an awe-inspiring atmosphere. Their dedication and love for their passions was so contagious that I’m sure some participants went home determined to put more hours into honing their talents, interests, and skills.

To pour out everything we have, to offer ourselves up completely for the sake of one moment in time—this is how greatness is achieved and how humankind comes to resemble God.